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Friday, December 10, 2010

an act of green in red

in style at home's upcycling issue, they call it an act of green -- taking something destined for the trash and repurposing it, avoiding unnecessary consumption at the same time. because i love the idea and i have a mending pile that my skill level and schedule won't accomodate, i grabbed the resource for this project from it -- boys cargo shorts.see them transform into funky little stockings and garland. (which i'm going to keep for valentine's day celebrating too)

steps for the interested:1. lay stocking on top of one short leg, centering the pocket, cut out leaving a 1 cm seam allowance2. flip the stocking to do the other leg3. lay the rest of the material doubled and get out stocking patterns where you can4. cut doubled hearts out of the rest of the material5. save the scraps and excess pocket liners as stuffing for the hearts6. turn stockings inside out and stitch 1 cm away from the edge, flip out, hang pocket side forward7. lay 2 heart pieces on top of each other, stitch on outside a quick once around, stuff with scraps, sew shut.8. double thick yarn or ribbon to make garland, center hearts and stitch on. hang above a picture of the people you love

i stumbled upon an easy candy free (ergo reusable) advent calendar too. i bought three dollar store countdown to Christmas calendar with pockets (meant for a bead marker to move every day). & simply wrote planned activities on strips of paper and inserted them into the right days (tip: keep a master list that coordinates with your calendar so it doesn't become stress instead of fun)

introducing

I am at work on my third book and I fit writing into the moments I am not at the job I love at our local university or hanging out with family and friends (disclosure: if you are my family and friends and catch me staring off into space, i may be writing the next scene while we hang out ;) I share home with my computer-building husband, our three highly entertaining sons, and a very emotionally needy cat.